Fur felting machine



7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 7, 1964 SCHULZE, BLAIR 8: BENOIT ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1967 M. H. BAKER ETAL FUR FELTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1964 SCHULZE, BLAIR 81 BENOIT ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1967 M. H. BAKER ETAL FUR FELTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 7, 1964 nmm hm Om mm amm- M @mk SCHULZE; BLAIR 8 BENOIT ATTORNEYS mm. T /J Oct. 24, 1967 M. H. BAKER ETAL FUR FELTING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1964 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 SCHULZE, BLAIR a BENOlT ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1967 M. H. BAKER ETAL 3,348,231

FUR FELTING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1964 7 Sheets-$heet 5 v SCHULZE', BLAIR a BENOiT ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1967 M. H. BAKER ETAL FUR FELTING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 7, 1964 SCHULZE, BLAIR 8| BENOIT ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,348,281 FUR FELTING MACHINE Morton H. Baker, deceased, late of Sandy Hook, Conn, by Dorothea S. Baker, administratrix, Sandy Hook, Conn., and Frederick Ritchie Marindin, Woodbury, Conn, assignors to Doran Brothers, Inc., Danbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed May 7, 1964, Ser. No. 365,839 26 Claims. (Cl. 285) This invention relates to the shrinking of hat bats from which fur felt hats are made.

In the manufacture of felt fur hats, a bat is first formed by blowing the fur upon a forming cone. The bat thus formed is then passed through hardening operations so that it may be handled without damage. Next, the bats are passed a number of times through a series of machines which shrinks and felts them. It is the aim of this invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for shrinking and felting hat bats.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide apparatus of the above character which is simple, practical, and thoroughly durable in use. Another object is to provide a machine of the above character which will be able to withstand continuous hard usage. Another object is to provide a method and apparatus of the above character in which hat bats are felted and shrunk more efliciently and with better results than heretofore achieved. Another object is to provide a method and apparatus of the above character by means of which an operator may felt and shrink a maximum of hat bats in far less time than has heretofore been required while at the same time producing a bat of superior quality. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention, accordingly, consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the several steps and relation and order of each of the same to one or more of the other, all as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the machine;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section of the machine illustrating the position of the upper and lower banks of rolls, the feed-in apron, the transfer apron and the return apron;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic vertical cross section of the machine illustrating the drive and mounting of the rolls taken on the line AA of FIGURE 2; certain parts being broken away for purposes of illustration;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the drive of the rolls as viewed from the left hand side of the machine in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the drive of the top rolls in the lower bank taken from the line 5-5 of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of the drive of the top and bottom rows of rolls in the upper and lower banks taken from the opposite side of the machine from that shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which alternate rolls in each row of rolls are driven with a jigging action through the use of a chain drive designed to have effective chordal action;

FIGURE 8 is a longitudinal section through one bank of rolls diagrammatically illustrating the passage of hat bats through the felting rolls;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 illustrating the felting action on a hat bat as it is flexed in passing through the machine;

FIGURE 10 diagrammatically illustrates the felting achieved as a portion of a bat curves to conform to the surface of a roll; and

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale similar to FIGURE 10 illustrating the cross felting action normal to the direction of bat travel produced by this rings on the rolls of the upper and lower banks of ro ls.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

For purposes of description, the side of the machine marked A in FIGURE 1 will be known as the front of the machine and the opposite end will be known as the rear of the machine. The side of the machine marked B in FIGURE 1 will be known as the left-hand side of the machine and the side opposite thereto will be known as the right-hand side of the machine.

In general, referring to FIGURES l and 2, the operator of the machine stands at the machines front A between the cold water tanks 10 and 11 used for cooling the hands of the operator as he handles the hot hat bats passing through the machine. The bats, as they cycle through the machine, are picked up from the return apron 12 and placed upon the feed-in apron 13. The feed-in apron feeds the bats between the upper and lower rows of rolls (FIG- URE 2) forming the upper bank of the machine, generally indicated at 14. After passing through the upper bank Where the bat is crozed in one direction because the upper and lower rows of rolls are driven at different speeds, the bats pass onto transfer apron 15. This apron coacts with transfer apron 16 to feed the bats between the two rows of rolls forming the lower bank of the machine, generally indicated at 17. As the bats are transferred, their positions are turned over so that the portions of the bats which were uppermost in the top bank are on the bottom in the lower bank. As the hats pass through the lower bank, the hats are crozed in the opposite direction to the croze put in in the top bank and finally are fed onto the return apron 12 from which the bats are transferred by the operator to apron 13 and again passed through the machine. As the bats passthrough the banks, they are subjected to pressure, weaving action both longitudinally and transversely of the machine to compress the fibers on the concave side of the bat, and to a jigging action resulting from chordal action chain drive of the rolls in each bank.

The framework of the machine includes legs 20*, 21, 22, and 23 (FIGURES 1 and 2) suitably braced by transverse and longitudinal supporting members 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. A pair of side plates 30 and 31 are suitably mounted on the framework formed by the legs and supporting members. At the rear end of the machine, the legs extend vertically to support the housing 32 for the transfer aprons. These legs and side plates 30 and 31 also support bearing supporting plates 33, 34-, 35, and 36- (FIG- URE 3) on which the bearings for the rolls of the upper and lower banks are mounted.

1 During the operation of the machine, hot Water is sprayed upon the bats as they pass through the machine to aid the felting and shrinking operation. A reserve tank 37 (FIGURE 1) is provided at the bottom of the machine from which hot water is pumped into tray 38. Tray 38 is perforated so that water sprinkles onto the bats as they pass through the machine.

The feed-in apron 13 (FIGURE 1) is mounted on two rolls 40 and 41 (FIGURE 2) which are rotatably mounted transversely of the machine. The shaft 42 of inner roll 40 is driven by suitable means (not shown) at the average speed of the top and bottom rolls of the top bank 14. The shaft 39 of roll 40 is mounted on two bearings 43 and 44 (FIGURE 1) which are movable longitudinally of the machine. These bearings are adjustable longitudinally of the machine by rotating wheels and 46. This permits the tension upon apron 13 to be adjusted to the proper degree and also permits steering the belt so it will run evenly on the rolls. This keeps the top of the belt tight and prevents the formation of a water pocket that could move the bats out of position.

After leaving apron 13, the bats are fed into the right hand end of the upper bank of rolls 14 (FIGURE 2). All of the shafts of the rolls of the bottom row of the upper bank are mounted on fixed bearings such as bearings 47 and 48 (FIGURE 3) on hearing supporting plates 33 and 34. The shafts of the rolls in the upper row are mounted on bearings such as bearings 50 and 51 which are mounted in supports 52 and 53 for movement vertically with respect to the machine. As is better shown in FIGURE 5, the sides of bearings 50 and 51 are grooved the same as hearing 7 for mounting in a slot 8 in support 9. Each roll in the upper row of rolls is resilientl pressed downwardly toward the rolls in the bottom row by springs such as springs 54 and 55 acting downwardly against the tops of bearings 50 and 51. Bearing supports 52 and 53 are vertically adjustable and are set to limit the downward movement of the bearings and thus the rolls in the top row of rolls. The rolls in the top row are preferable adjusted so that they are as close to the bottom rolls as possible. A clearance of .015 between each top roll and the two bottom rolls it is positioned over has been found to be satisfactory.

To adjust the resilient pressure acting downward-1y on each of the top rolls, the upper end of each spring acting upon a top roll is engaged by an arm such as arms 58a and 58b (FIGURE 3). These arms, which are similar to arm 6 in the lower bank, are connected to rotatable shafts 59 and 60 (FIGURES 1 and 3) extending longitudinally of the machine. Thus, as shafts 59 and 60 are turned in clockwise and counterclockwise directions, as viewed in FIGURE 3, pressure on springs 54 and 55 is increased. As the shafts are turned in the opposite direction, pressure on the springs 54 and 55 is decreased. A shaft 62 mounted transversely of the machine is rotatable by means of handwheel 63. This shaft acts through worms 64 and 65 to turn worm gears 66 and 67 keyed to shafts 59 and 60. Thus as handwheel 63 is turned, arms 57 and 58 (FIGURE 3) are turned either upwardly or downwardly to increase or decrease the pressure on springs 54 and 55. In turn, springs 54 and 55 act on vertically movable bearings 50 and 51 to resiliently press roll 57 toward the rolls beneath it with the desired degree of pressure. All other rolls in the top row of the upper bank are mounted in a similar manner and thus the downward pressure of all of the rolls in the top row of rolls may be adjusted by turning handwheel 63. The upper rows of rolls in the bottom bank is mounted in the same manner as the top row of rolls in the top bank and the degree of pressure exerted by their respective springs such as springs 68 and 69 (FIGURE 3) is adjustable by turning handwheel 7 0 (FIGURE 1).

Referring to FIGURE 2, it will be noted that the shaft of each top roll in both top banks is positioned above the midway point between the shafts of two bottom rolls positioned beneath it. Thus, at any given time, the lowermost portion of each top roll is positioned below the uppermost portions of each of the two rolls ,pOSitiOned beneath it. Thus, a bat in passing between the two rows of rolls in each bank follows a weaving path which flexes each bat upwardly and downwardly as it passes through the machine.

All of the rolls in this machine are individually driven. As the method of driving the upper and lower rows of rolls in each bank is substantially similar, detailed description will be limited to the driving of the rolls in the lower bank. As is best shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, the shaft of each top row of rolls, such as. shaft 75, is connected by a universal joint 76 to a shaft 77 rotatably walls of gear housing box 78. A roller chain sprocket similar to sprocket 81 is keyed to each shaft. Referring to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that the sprockets on alternate shafts are offset with respect to each other and that all of the sprockets on alternate shafts are in longitudinal alignment with each other. At the rear end of the housing, a shaft is mounted on suitable bearings 90a and 90b. This shaft has a sprocket 91 keyed to its outer end and a pair of sprockets 92 and 93 keyed thereto and positioned within housing 78. Each of said last mentioned sprockets is in alignment with one of the rows of roll driving sprockets. Sprocket 93 is connected to and drives shafts 94, 95, 77, 96, and 97 through thEir respective sprockets by means of roller chain 98 (FIG- "'i URE 5). Sprocket 92 drives shafts 99, 100, 101, and

102 through their respective sprockets by means of roller chain 104 (FIGURE 5). Thus, alternate rolls in the upper row of the lower bank are driven by two sprockets 92 and 93 mounted on shaft 90. As is best shown in FIGURES 1 and 4, sprocket 91 which is keyed to shaft 90, is driven by sprocket 106 mounted on and keyed to a shaft 107. Shaft 107 extends transversely across the machine and is connected to the gear box diagrammatically shown as 300 (FIGURE 6). Gear box 300 is driven by a shaft 302 connected to gear box 301. Gear box 301 is driven through shaft 303 by a source of power (not shown) and also drives shaft 115.

To improve the felting action and thus the quality of the felt produced, chordal action is used in driving the rolls so that alternate rolls are continually speeding up and slowing down in out of phase relationship with respect to the rolls positioned on either side of them. To accomplish this, the sprockets 92 and 93 and the driven sprockets on each roll shaft are each provided with seven teeth. As is best shown in FIGURE '7, the teeth on driving sprockets 92 and 93 are positioned 180 out of phase but are in phase with the sprockets they drive. Thus, through chordal action, as shaft 90 turns, each roll in a row of rolls is alternately speeding up and slowing down in out of phase relationship with respect to the rolls positioned adjacent to it in the same row of rolls. This results in the alternate compression and stretching of the bat passing between the rolls and adds to the felting action of the machine.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, the bottom row of rolls in the lower bank are mounted on suitable fixed bearings such as bearings 101 and 102 mounted on bearing supporting plates 35 and 36. The right hand ends of the roll shafts are provided with sprockets 305a and 305b (FIGURE 6). Alternate roll driving sprockets are again aligned in inside and outside rows similar to the drive shown in FIGURE 5. The inside and outside drive sprockets 108 and 109 (FIGURES 3 and 6) are mounted on shaft 110 and again driven through roller chains 114a and 11% with the same type of chordal jigging action that is used on the upper row of rolls on the lower bank (FIGURES 3, 5 and 6). Shaft 110 is driven through a sprocket 111 keyed thereto. Sprocket 111 is driven from sprocket 112 by means of chain 113. Sprocket 112 is keyed to shaft which is driven through gear box 301 but rotates in the opposite direction. As viewed in FIGURE 6, shaft 115 is driven in a counterclockwise direction and drives shaft 110 through sprocket 112, chain 113, and sprocket 111. Sprocket 111 drives roll shafts 105 in a counterclockwise direction through chains 114a and 11%. As cross shaft 107 is driven in the opposite direction from shaft 115 or in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the other side of the machine (FIG- URE 4), the shafts 94, '95, 96, 97, and 77 of the upper row of rolls in the lower bank are driven in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 4. Thus, hat bats are driven through the lower bank of rolls from the left to the right or toward the front of the machine.

The upper bank of rolls is driven in a manner similar mounted on bearings 79 and 80 mounted on the side 75 to the lower bank. As is best shown in FIGURES 3 and 6, the shafts 203 of the upper row of rolls in this bank are driven through sprockets, such as sprockets 115 and 117, and roller chains 118 and 119 with the same chordal action drive that is used in driving the upper and lower rows of rolls in the lower bank. The lower row of rolls in the upper bank are driven through their shafts 120 (FIGURES 3 and 4) by means of sprockets 121 and chains 123a and 123b. All roll drive sprockets have seven teeth to achieve maximum chordal action drive. Shaft 124 is driven by chain 125 which in turn is driven by a sprocket gear 126 mounted on cross shaft 107. This turns the lower row of rolls in the upper bank in a counterclockwise direction to feed hat bats toward the back of the machine.

The upper row of rolls in the upper bank is driven by a chordal action drive from sprockets 115 and 117 (FIGURE 3) mounted on shaft 201 (FIGURE 6) in a manner similar to the driving of the upper row of the lower bank of rolls. Shaft 201 is driven in a counterclockwise direction through sprocket 131 keyed thereto, and sprocket 131 is driven through roller chain 173 by a sprocket 132 mounted on shaft 115. This turns the upper row of rolls in the upper bank of rolls in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right-hand side of the mactu'ne in FIGURE 6, and these rolls coact with the clockwise driven shafts 120 of lower row of rolls to feed hat bats toward the rear of the machine. a

After the hat bats pass through the upper bank of rolls, they are transferred to the lower bank by transfer aprons and 16. As is best shown in FIGURE 2, transfer apron 15 is mounted on three rolls 140, :141, and 142 which extend transversely across the machine. One of these rolls 140 is driven by means not shown so that the apron 15 is driven at the same rate of speed as hats passing through the upper bank of rolls. A pair of idler rolls 150 and 151 (FIGURE 2) are provided to keep the belt 15 flat between its side guides (not shown) so that the edges of the belt cannot curl up. Roll 142 is adjustable vertically by means not shown to apply tension to belt 15.

The other transfer apron 16 is mounted on four rolls 152, 153, 154, and 155 which are mounted transversely of the machine. One of these rolls 155 is driven from the same source that drives apron 15 and at the same rate of speed. Because of the position of rolls 152 and 155, apron 16 is held in engagement with apron 15. Upper roll 153 is mounted on a pair of vertically movable bearings one of which is shown at 156 (FIGURE 1). These bearings are adjustable by means of handwheels such as handwheel 157. Thus by adjusting roll 153 (FIGURE 2) vertically, the right degree of tension is placed on apron 16.

It will be noted that when a bat is transferred from the upper bank to the lower bank, it is turned over so that the side which was uppermost in the upper bank is lowermost in the lower bank. This is important in achieving proper crozing as in both the top and bottom banks, the bottom rolls are normally run faster than the top rolls, but the croze is reversed in the bottom bank because the bat has been turned over.

As the bats leave apron 16, they pass into the lower bank of rolls where they again are subjected to the Weaving, crozing, sliding, and pressure action of the rolls in this bank. After passing through the lower bank, they feed out onto the return apron 12 which is'mounted on rolls 190 and 191 (FIGURE 2). These rolls are mounted on shafts 192 and 193 and shaft 192 is driven by means not shown. Shaft 193 (FIGURE 1) is mounted on adjustable bearings one of which is shown at 194. These bearings may be moved longitudinally of the machine by means of hand wheels 195 and 196 and thus the tension on apron 12 may be adjusted to any desired degree.

In order to croze the bats as they pass through the top bank, the top row of rolls in this bank is driven at a lower rate of speed than the bottom row of rolls. In this machine, the top row of rolls is driven at 5 8 f.p.m. while the lower row of rolls is driven at 62 f.p.m. This roll speed, which is far higher than has been heretofore used, results in a croze which will leave approximately three eighths inch lip on the bottom of the hat bat as it leaves the upper bank. The hats must enter and leave the rolls at approximately the same speed as they travel through the upper bank. Thus the average speed of the rolls on the top bank is 60 f.p.m. and the aprons 13, 15, and 16 driven at this speed.

After the bats are transferred to the lower rolls by the transfer aprons, the croze is reversed. As the croze for a single pass through the machine should not come out even lipped, a greater croze in the opposite direction is put in each hat by the lower bank. To accomplish this, the upper row of rolls in the lower bank are driven at a speed at 5'6 f.p.m. and the lower bank of rolls is driven at a speed at 64 f.p.m. The differential in the speeds at which the upper and lower rows are driven results in the removal of the croze put in each bat by the upper bank. In addition, additional croze in the opposite direction is given to each bat passing through the lower bank.

As the upper and lower rolls in each bank are driven at different speeds, some rolls in the upper and lower rows of rolls sometimes jog in phase and at other times jog out of phase as they are driven by their respective chordal action drivers. Thus, sometimes some rolls in coacting rows of rolls are speeding up and slowing down together and later the same rolls are exactly out of phase with respect to each other. Thus, the felt in the bat is continually being compressed and stretched by the crozing action resulting from the different speeds of roll drive plus-the chordal action drive of each row of rolls. This is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 9 in which one of the many different types of action is shown. In

I this illustration, the arrows do not indicate direction of turn but rather whether or not a roll is speeding up or slowing down due to the chordal action drive. Considering the direction of travel of the bat generally indicated at 200 to be from left to right when roll B slows down and roll A speeds up, the upper ply of the bat is compressed. This felts the fur while at the same time rolls C and D are slowing down and speeding up the portion of the lower ply between the two rolls is subjected to a stretching action.

The action described above ties in with the weaving path each bat travels as it passes through the machine to continually twist, turn, compress and weave the bat so that the fur fibers felt in a far shorter period of time than has been heretofore achieved. The weaving path of each bat is illustrated in FIGURE 8 in which bats 210 and 211 are passing through one of the banks of the machine and are being directly acted upon by each row of rolls. In FIGURE 10 the effect of this weaving action is diagrammatically illustrated with R indicating one of the rolls over which one of the plies 220 of a bat is passing. Here it will be noted that the outside 22211 of the ply is subjected to a stretching action. As this occurs, the inner half 222b of the ply 220 is subjected to a compressing action.

The neutral axis of the bat is beyond the center of the bat on the outside of the curve. This is largely due to the fact that the fur compresses much more easily than it stretches. In theory, this is due to the fact that the barbs on the fibers allow them to slide together but resist movement in the opposite direction. The felting effect is accentuated by the chordal action drive as illustrated in FIGURE 9 as its compressing and stretching actions. These two actions act together to produce a quality felt in a minimum of time.

In addition to the felting action achieved by the chordal action drive, the alternate compression and release of the plies of the bat under the spring actuated upper row of rolls in each bank, and the weaving action achieved by the position of the rolls with respect to each other, additional felting and shrinking action is obtained by rings formed on the upper and lower rolls in each bank. These rings are diagrammatically shown on rolls F and G. The rings 230 on roll F are offset with respect to the rings 240 on the lower roll G. These rings are about 4 of an inch deep and act directly upon the plies of each bat B passing through the machine. As pointed out above, the rolls are set so that they clear each other by approximately .015 of an inch. Thus in operation, each ring presses on each bat passing beneath it. Because of the spacing of the rings, they have a weaving action upon each bat transversely of the machine. As soon as each portion of a bat passes a roll, the pressure on this portion of the bat is released. Thus, each bat is continually being compressed and released by the rings on the rolls and this kneading action also speeds felting and shrinking.

To achieve a quality felt, the fur must be worked together by forces acting in many difierent directions. This machine causes each fiber to follow a twisting path as the pressures and forces acting upon it are constantly changing. This results not only in faster felting and shrinking, but also in producing a quality felt at the same time. Through the use of this machine, a quality felt can be produced in far less time than any machine now in use in the market.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment and method above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinabove set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls forming a surface complementary to the surface formed by said upper row of rolls, means for driving at least one of said rows of rolls, whereby a bat fed between said rows of rolls will be fed through to the other end, said last mentioned means driving alternate rolls in said driven row of rolls at different rates of speed.

2. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combina tion, an upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls forming a surface complementary to the surface formed by said upper row of rolls, means for driving alternate rolls in one of said rows of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the remaining rolls in said last mentioned row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said first and second mentioned driving means driving alternate rolls in said row of rolls in out of phase relationship whereby as one set of alternate rolls is speeding up the other set of alternate rolls is slowing down.

3. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, means for driving alternate rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the remaining rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said last mentioned means driving its rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to the other rolls in said lower row of rolls.

4. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, means for resiliently pressing said upper row of rolls toward said lower row of rolls, means for driving alternate rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the remaining rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said last mentioned means driving its rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to the other rolls in said lower row of rolls.

5. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, means for driving alternate rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, means for driving the remaining rolls in said lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said last mentioned means driving its rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to the other rolls in said lower row of rolls, and means forming an irregular surface on the rolls in each of said rows of rolls, said irregular surfaces interfitting with other rolls so that they coact with other rolls in working upon hat bats passing through the machine.

6. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, the longitudinal axes of said rolls being aligned with respect to each other, the longitudinal axes of the rolls in said top row of rolls being centrally positioned with respect to the axes of the rolls in said bottom row of rolls whereby each roll with the exception of the end rolls coacts with two rolls in the opposite row and causes bats passing through the machine to follow a wavy path as it passes between the rows of rolls, and means for driving one of said rows of rolls at varying rates of speed.

7. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, the longitudinal axes of said rolls being aligned with respect to each other, the longitudinal axes of the rolls in said top row of rolls being centrally positioned with respect to the axes of the rolls in said bottom row of rolls whereby each roll with the exception of the end rolls coacts with two rolls in the opposite row and causes bats to follow a Wavy path as it passes between the rows of rolls, means for driving one of said rows of rolls, means for driving the other row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for resiliently pressing the rolls in one of said rows of rolls toward the other row of rolls.

8. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper row of rolls, a lower row of rolls, the longitudinal axes of said rolls being aligned with respect to each other, the longitudinal axes of the rolls in said top row of rolls being centrally positioned with respect to the axes of the rolls in said bottom row of rolls whereby each roll with the exception of the end rolls coacts with two rolls in the opposite row and causes bats passing through the machine to follow a wavy path as it passes between the rows of rolls, means for resiliently pressing the rolls in one row of rolls toward the other row of rolls, means for driving one of said rows of rolls, means for driving alternate rolls in the other row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the remaining rolls in said last mentioned row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said last two mentioned means driving their respective rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to each other.

9. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, chordal action drive means for driving one of said rows of rolls, said chordal action means driving said row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the other row of rolls.

10. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, means for resiliently pressing one of said row of rolls toward the other, chordal action drive means for driving alternate rolls in one of said rows of rolls, and chordal action drive means for driving the other rolls in said last mentioned row of rolls, said rolls being driven by said chordal action driving means in out of phase relationship with respect to each other.

11. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, means for resiliently pressing one of said row of rolls toward the other, chordal action drive means for driving alternate rolls in one of said rows of rolls, chordal action drive means for driving the other rolls in said last mentioned row of rolls, said rolls being driven by said chordal action driving means in out of phase relationship with respect to each other, and means for driving the other row of rolls, one of said rows of rolls being driven at a higher rate of speed than the other whereby a bat is crozed as it passes between the rolls.

12. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, said rolls having irregular surfaces, the surfaces of the upper and lower rolls being complementary so that they coact to work on a bat passing between them, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving alternate rolls in one of said rows of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving the remaining rolls in said last mentioned row of rolls, said rolls being driven in out of phase relationship with respect to each other.

13. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls at varying rates of speed, and means for driving the lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed.

14. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls at varying rates of speed, means for driving the lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said driving means for said upper row of rolls driving its rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to the driving means for the lower row of rolls, and means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other.

15. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, means for driving said upper row of rolls at varying rates of speed, means for driving the lower row of rolls at varying rates of speed, said driving means for said upper row of rolls driving its rolls in out of phase relationship with respect to the driving means for the lower row of rolls, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other, one of said rows of rolls being driven at a higher rate of speed than the other, and means forming irregular surfaces on said rolls, the surfaces of said rolls in the upper and lower rows being complementary and coacting in working upon a bat passing between the rows of rolls.

16. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving said upper row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving said lower row of rolls, and means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other.

17. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving said upper row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving said lower row of rolls, one of said driving means driving its rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other, said rolls in the upper row of rolls being driven in out of phase relationship with respect to the rolls in the lower row, and means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other.

18. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, said rolls having irregular surfaces, the surfaces of the upper and lower rolls being complementary so that they coact to work on the plies of a bat passing between them, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other, chordal action driving means for driving alternate rolls on said lower row of rolls, means for driving the remaining rolls on said lower row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving alternate rolls on said upper row of rolls, means for driving the remaining rolls on said upper row of rolls, and means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other.

19. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, a lower row of rolls, an upper row of rolls, said rolls having irregular surfaces, the surfaces of the upper and lower rolls being complementary so that they coact to work on a bat passing between them, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other, chordal action driving means for driving alternate rolls on said lower row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving the remaining rolls on said lower row of rolls, chordal action driving means for driving alternate rolls on said upper row of rolls, and means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls toward the other.

20. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper bank of rolls, a lower bank of rolls, each of said banks of rolls including upper and lower rows of rolls, means for driving said rows of rolls, said upper bank of rolls feeding bats away from the operator, said lower bank of rolls feeding bats back to the operator, transfer means for transferring bats from said upper bank of rolls to said lower bank of rolls, said bat being turned over as it is transferred from one bank to the other, said roll driving means driving one of said rows of rolls in the upper bank of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other to croze bats passing through the upper bank, said roll driving means driving at least one of the row of rolls in the lower bank of rollers at a higher rate of speed than the other row of rolls to remove the croze put in the bat by the upper row of rolls.

21. In a machine for shrinking hat bats, in combination, an upper bank of rolls, a lower bank of rolls, each of said banks including upper and lower rows of rolls, chordal action roll driving means for driving the rolls in said upper bank, chordal action roll driving means for driving the rolls in said lower bank, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls in the upper bank toward the other row, means for resiliently pressing one of said rows of rolls in the lower bank toward the other, said upper bank of rolls being positioned over the lower bank of rolls, and transfer aprons for transferring bats from the upper bank of rolls to the lower bank, said transfer aprons turning over bats passing through the machine as they are transferred, said roll driving means driving one of said rows of rolls in the upper bank of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other to croze bats passing through the upper bank, said roll driving means driving one of the rows of rolls in the lower bank of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other row to remove the croze put in the bat by the upper row of rolls.

22. The herein described method of shrinking hat bats and the like, which consists in feeding bats between two coacting rows of rolls in a direction away from the operator, driving one row of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other to croze the bat, transferring the bat to two coacting rows of rolls feeding toward the operator, and driving one of said last mentioned rows of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other to croze the bat, transferring the bat to two coacting rows of rolls feeding toward the operator, and driving one of the rows of rolls in said last mentioned rows of rolls at a higher rate of speed than the other to reverse the direction of croze put in by said first mentioned two rows of rolls.

23. The herein described method of shrinking hat bats and the like, which consists in feeding bats which are folded so as to form two plies between two rows of rolls and driving alternate rolls in one of said rows of rolls at varying rates of speed to alternately stretch and compress the plies of the bodies of hat bats passing between the rows of rolls.

24. The herein described method of shrinking hat bats and the like, which consists in feeding bats which are folded so as to form two plies between two rows of rolls and driving alternate rolls in each of said rows of rolls at varying rates of speed, the plies in said hat bodies being alternately stretched and compressed by the coaction of the rolls.

25. The herein described method of shrinking hat bats and the like, which consists in passing hat bats which are folded so as to form two plies between two rows of rolls, causing said bats to follow a wavy path as they pass through the machine, and driving alternate rolls in each of said row of rolls at varying rates of speed to alternate- 1y stretch and compress the plies of the hats passing between the rolls,

26. The herein described method of shrinking hat bats and the like, which consists in passing hat bats between two rows of rolls, causing said bat to foilow a wavy path as it passes between the rolls driving alternate rolls in each of said rows of rolls at varying rates of speed, driving the other rolls at varying rates of speed in out of phase relationship with respect to the first mentioned rolls and thus stretching and compressing the bodies of bats passing through the machine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Genest 28--5 Franz et a1 285 Chatfield 26-20 X Mezzera 285 Casse 285 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

1 DONALD W. PARKER, L. RIMRODT, Examiners. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SHRINKING HAT BATS, IN COMBINATION, AN UPPER ROW OF ROLLS, A LOWER ROW OF ROLLS FORMING A SURFACE COMPLEMENTARY TO THE SURFACE FORMED BY SAID UPPER ROW OF ROLLS, MEANS FOR DRIVING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROWS OF ROLLS, WHEREBY A BAT FED BETWEEN SAID ROWS OF ROLLS WILL BE FED THROUGH TO THE OTHER END, SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS DRIVING ALTERNATE ROLLS IN SAID DRIVEN ROW OF ROLLS AT DIFFERENT RATES OF SPEED. 